The Stories That Rule Them All

[Rob_Royale]

There's a reason this has 2.5 million views and 1.5 favorites.

I believe you, but one should also point out that it's been on the site for twenty years.

 

[Lifestyle66]

Another of the Loving Wives category often used themes is "We need to talk." This is usually when one spouse has been secretly cheating on the other and it's time to bring it out into the open. A quick search for titles shows dozens of them, mostly in LW with ratings from 2 to 4.75 (probably due to various levels of BTB repercussions, the worst scoring higher).

My own shitty variation on this theme posted last night and is at 2.54 (I could have burned the bitch, but that's not what I write.)

I think in the LW category, there are plenty of good stories, it just depends on the reader's particular kink. So, when searching for titles in a theme like this, you'll find the (best?) most violent BTB examples just by looking for the highest rating. But if you're looking for less "burning" there are plenty of reasonable stories which might be a 3.0 or possibly less.

 

[lovecraft68]

This.

There is a big difference between a story about a torrid professor/student fling and a story about two old lovers checking into the same care facility, and rediscovering their bittersweet love.

And yet? Both go in "Mature."

Not sure it's possible for many of us to suggest anything outside our own interests, and that'll carry bias. So I'm unsure it's possible to make an "all things to all readers" sort of list like this.

But would both stories be something that avid readers in that category would know?

The point of this isn't pick a great story, its the story that's built the reputation of a must read if you enjoy that category.

Its not hard to come up with it in those terms.

 

[Voboy]

But would both stories be something that avid readers in that category would know?

The point of this isn't pick a great story, its the story that's built the reputation of a must read if you enjoy that category.

Its not hard to come up with it in those terms.

I agree that picking a story would not be too hard, not least because the site keeps many stats that can help direct readers toward works that get read a lot, or achieve mass approval. I don't see why interested readers need much more than that, certainly not based on anything as subjective as what you're describing here.

I don't agree that "a must read" necessarily has to exist in every category, at all.

I also think this concept is completely non-subjective, and temporary. How long ago was it that everyone KNEW you had to read Moby-Dick as a quintessential example of American literature? Not even twenty years. And yet even back then, we realized it wasn't a very good read. And nowadays, nobody reads it at all.

This entire concept is ephemeral.

 

[lovecraft68]

I agree that picking a story would not be too hard, not least because the site keeps many stats that can help direct readers toward works that get read a lot, or achieve mass approval. I don't see why interested readers need much more than that, certainly not based on anything as subjective as what you're describing here.

I don't agree that "a must read" necessarily has to exist in every category, at all.

I also think this concept is completely non-subjective, and temporary. How long ago was it that everyone KNEW you had to read Moby-Dick as a quintessential example of American literature? Not even twenty years. And yet even back then, we realized it wasn't a very good read. And nowadays, nobody reads it at all.

This entire concept is ephemeral.

Using the example of horror movies: Even if you never saw it, or did and wasn't a big fan, people say "The Exorcist" and you know it as one of the greatest of all time.

There's stories like that here.

TBH, the issue some people are having with this is that I'm not asking authors to tout their own stories, and also asking them to acknowledge someone else. Plenty here can do that, plenty more can't.

 

[Voboy]

Using the example of horror movies: Even if you never saw it, or did and wasn't a big fan, people say "The Exorcist" and you know it as one of the greatest of all time.

There's stories like that here.

TBH, the issue some people are having with this is that I'm not asking authors to tout their own stories, and also asking them to acknowledge someone else. Plenty here can do that, plenty more can't.

Not to beat a dead horse, but if you talk to milennials, many of them have never heard of The Exorcist. They tend to think The Ring is the end-all, be-all of horror. Gen Z has never really heard of Star Wars, and if they have they don't think of it as a definitive work in the genre. That boggles my mind, but I can't pretend it's not real.

It's not a big thing. If you think people here need yet another way to rank works, then go with your bad self. I just think there are so many stories here that it's not terribly useful assuming every category has one (or even ten) "must-reads." That ignores too many other stories, and the differential is probably not as great as you seem to think. Depending on the readers' bias, that is.

 

[oneagainst]

Not to beat a dead horse, but if you talk to milennials, many of them have never heard of The Exorcist. They tend to think The Ring is the end-all, be-all of horror. Gen Z has never really heard of Star Wars, and if they have they don't think of it as a definitive work in the genre. That boggles my mind, but I can't pretend it's not real.

It's not a big thing. If you think people here need yet another way to rank works, then go with your bad self. I just think there are so many stories here that it's not terribly useful assuming every category has one (or even ten) "must-reads." That ignores too many other stories, and the differential is probably not as great as you seem to think. Depending on the readers' bias, that is.

I think the flavour of the thread is not about "must read" stories necessarily, but ones that capture the essence of the thing. Or at least, the essence for that particular trope, since the category level on its own is not really granular enough.

It's the vibe.... It's Mabo....

 

[Rustyoznail]

It's the vibe.... It's Mabo....

This quotes going straight to the pool room...

Early on, I read "Words on skin" because it was held up as something all aspiring I/T writers should do. It's a nice story, but not one I want to copy. It's not my cup of tea.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Using the example of horror movies: Even if you never saw it, or did and wasn't a big fan, people say "The Exorcist" and you know it as one of the greatest of all time.

There's stories like that here.

I get what you're saying, but for the categories I read, I'd struggle to name one that has the same kind of fame. (Even allowing for the points @Voboy made.) I could point to stories that I loved, but I don't have a sense for what everybody else feels about them. Only what the ratings tell us, and I know you're not looking for people to just quote the top-10 lists at you.

Maybe it's because there are so many stories written on Literotica, compared to movie releases (English-language). But it might also just be me. When I came here, I already knew the kind of stories I wanted to write and I had a fair bit of experience writing already, so I never had much reason to ask "what stories are famous here?", I just poked around to find the ones I liked. If there's some part of the forum where people do talk a lot about their favourite LS stories, I haven't seen it yet.

 

[oneagainst]

I'm curious about the archetypes because my next project is going to be an adventure in archetypes, particularly if one of the older/classic ones could bear a bit of a new twist. After having written in a dozen and a half categories here, it's fascinating just how much anthropology could be mined in these pages. The first one is going into the 750 Word Challenge, the next part into Pink Orchid. Maybe just covering off the main challenges and contests achieves the same things, but I can't help but feeling there are some real gems out there that a couple of sassy FMCs with a penchant for mischief couldn't have fun with...?

 

[joy_of_cooking]

The stories I read seem to be less intertextual than LW. I've been reading BDSM and Fetish for nearly fifteen years now. Here's the only time I've seen an alternate ending to another author's story: https://www.literotica.com/s/older-sisters-nylons-ch-02

But there are themes. Off the top of my head,

1. A trip to a professional dominatrix.
2. Wife discovers his porn stash.
3. Wife discovers his trips to a professional dominatrix.
4. Serendipitous encounter in public, e.g., being waited upon in a shoe store or just ogling someone on public transit who turns out to be quite receptive to that sort of attention.
5. Spicing up a dead bedroom.
6. He cheats and she takes him back on one condition...

To be fair, I almost exclusively read femdom and that's a much smaller pool. I think most of these scenarios become much less stereotypical (and IMO much more interesting and/or alarming) if the genders are flipped. E.g., "I cheated on my husband and now he beats me all the time" is not, on average, a fun time.

 

[Ambient4190]

'Bandit' by YouDidWhut in Mature

A couple of thoughts:

1) over time there have been some incredibly popular/high rated authors who for whatever reason got their panties in a twist and pulled all their stories or the highest rated...

2) I have noticed quite a few authors on AH mention they actually don't read many stories on Lit.

I would love to see this question put in front of the 'frequent commenters' - the folks who read their favorite categories every day/every other day and make comments.

 

[joy_of_cooking]

That's a great idea. I wonder how that could be done? I doubt Laurel would let us post a survey. Maybe as a footnote in another story, inviting people to answer in the comments?

 

[MelissaBaby]

'Bandit' by YouDidWhut in Mature

Definitely one of the best stories I've read here.

 

[Areala-chan]

Macallan Promises is the sisters, time stopping story. It's great in it's own right, but I have always strongly felt that it probably inspired Ariella-Chan's Crash into me, a personal favorite of mine. Combined with his having helped kicked off Onehitwanda's illustrious tenure here, it's safe to say Mr. Fear has left a very positive legacy here.

It absolutely did inspire "Crash Into Me". In fact, I threw a subtle nod its way, with the narrator declaring that her family is of Irish descent, and they take promises very seriously, just as PacoFear's sisters do in "Macallan Promises".

I used to chat with her. She reached out to me about some of my stories and I'm flattered that she considered me an influence on some of her work and style. Its a loss that she doesn't write here anymore.

You were (and still are) a massive influence on my desire to re-join the community after I wandered back after my initial ten-year vacation. You also helped me get a much-needed perspective for posting on the forums, since things had changed quite a lot since 2003.

I sent her an email through the feedback portal 2 or 3 years ago to tell her how much I enjoyed her story. Honestly, all of them are great. She was very gracious in her response, sharing a lot of insight into how she developed the story. Her output here has always been very sporadic, and to me, she's a perfect example of quality over quantity. That said, I just hope she publishes again somewhere. It'd be a shame if she didn't.

I spend some time writing almost every day, and I brainstorm ideas constantly. My problem often comes down to trying to make a given premise work in conjunction with the inspiration. If I reach a point where I'm banging my head against a wall, or if I think I'm not able to do the characters justice, I'll put the idea on ice and move on to something else, maybe coming back to it later. Several times I've found myself writing a story that I think is going well only to poke around here and see that somebody else already did a similar thing far better than the idea I had, and while imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, I can't stand the idea of someone looking at a story I wrote and going, "Oh, she just copied <AuthorName>'s premise. How lame." I'm my own worst enemy, I guess. Same with all depressive creative sorts, I think.

 

[lovecraft68]

It absolutely did inspire "Crash Into Me". In fact, I threw a subtle nod its way, with the narrator declaring that her family is of Irish descent, and they take promises very seriously, just as PacoFear's sisters do in "Macallan Promises".

You were (and still are) a massive influence on my desire to re-join the community after I wandered back after my initial ten-year vacation. You also helped me get a much-needed perspective for posting on the forums, since things had changed quite a lot since 2003.

I spend some time writing almost every day, and I brainstorm ideas constantly. My problem often comes down to trying to make a given premise work in conjunction with the inspiration. If I reach a point where I'm banging my head against a wall, or if I think I'm not able to do the characters justice, I'll put the idea on ice and move on to something else, maybe coming back to it later. Several times I've found myself writing a story that I think is going well only to poke around here and see that somebody else already did a similar thing far better than the idea I had, and while imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, I can't stand the idea of someone looking at a story I wrote and going, "Oh, she just copied <AuthorName>'s premise. How lame." I'm my own worst enemy, I guess. Same with all depressive creative sorts, I think.

Great to see you again.